Key Events: Jan 18-24

BELARUS

 

Jan 18: Belarus stripped of ice hockey world championship after crackdown on protesters. Belarus has been stripped of the right to co-host this year’s ice hockey world championship due to safety concerns over political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic there, the sport’s governing body said on Monday, in a blow to President Alexander Lukashenko. Volkswagen’s Skoda Auto and Liqui Moly, sponsors of the tournament, had threatened in the last few days to pull out if the event was to be held in Minsk.

Jan 18: Belarus down in international Safety Index. Belarus has lost 98 positions on the international database “Numbeo” in the safety ranking of countries since early 2020. Now Belarus is between the Dominican Republic and Kenya in terms of safety. In 2020, Belarus ranked 16th out of 129 countries, while at the beginning of 2021 it ranked 114th.

Jan 18: The hypocrisy of the terrorist state. The Belarusian Prosecutor General has appealed to the National Central Bureau of Interpol in the Republic of Belarus, asking to place former state official Pavel Latushka on the international wanted list. Pavel Latushka is a former minister of culture of Belarus who also served as Belarus’ Ambassador to Poland and France, who spoke out against the regime after August elections. Pavel Latushka is charged under Article 357-1 (‘conspiracy to seize state power in an unconstitutional way’), Art. 361-1 (‘establishing an extremist group”), Art. 361-3 (‘calls for actions aimed at threatening national security’).

Jan 20: Reporter, doctor who gave details about Bandarenka’s murder still in jail. Two months have already passed since TUT.BY journalist Katsyaryna Barysevich was arrested. She has not been released and no official document on extending the detention period has been published. Another defendant in the case, health professional Artsyom Sarokin, also remains in custody. TUT.BY reporter Katsyaryna Barysevich was arrested on November, 19 after the Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case over allegedly ‘violating medical privacy which entailed grave consequences’ (Art. 178-3) had been opened.

Jan 20: In Belarus, a press badge makes you a target. Statistics by Press Under Pressure, a project run by the press club, say journalists have been detained almost 400 times since the election. Figures show 81 journalists arrested and 15 facing criminal cases.

Jan 23: Minsk citizen may face life imprisonment or death penalty for running over policeman leg in August. A 45-year-old Minsk resident Alyaksandr Trotski is accused of driving his car over the leg of a traffic policeman on August 12. These actions were qualified by the investigation as attempted murder of a police officer, reports spring96.org. In the evening of August 12, armed men stopped Alyaksandr’s car near the Stela monument, and when he refused to get out of the car, they broke the windows, took him out of the car and severely beat him.

Jan 23: Marches and solidarity protests held in Belarus. Traditional street protests were held in Minsk. There were also actions of solidarity with political prisoners held at various points in the capital. Volunteers report the names of 126 detainees today. Among the detained were the volunteers of the “Food Instead of Bombs” and “Street Medicine” initiatives who helped the homeless.

INTERNATIONAL

Jan 20: Tsikhanouskaya to address UN Security Council over Belarus crackdown. Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya will address the United Nations’ Security Council this week over an ongoing crackdown on protesters and independent media in her country. Tsikhanouskaya will also raise the issue of launching “an international investigation into the crimes of the [President Alyaksandr] Lukashenka regime and will call for holding a formal session of the UN Security Council to address the crisis in Belarus”.

Jan 20: Opinion: Belarus presents the West with an opportunity to be on the right side of history. Examples of Lukashenka’s ostracization have been mounting since August 2020, when he launched a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators protesting an election that the opposition and much of the international community believe was rigged.

Jan 24: UNSC Watch: In New York, India’s balancing act between West and Russia over Belarus. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members had called for an informal meeting on media freedom in Belarus, much to Russia’s displeasure. Organised by Estonia, the UK and the US, the meeting was co-sponsored by eight other non-UNSC members from the Western bloc. India’s deputy permanent representative to UN, Nagaraj Naidu sided with Russian representative and said that India enjoys a “comprehensive partnership” with Belarus and called for a “constructive engagement by the international community with the Belarusian (Lukashenka) government”. India has, officially, never issued any comment on the Belarusian elections.